Week 5: Hispanic Population in South Florida

This map was produced using Adobe Illustrator. It began with several map elements that were arranged and modified and then exported as a png file. The neatline was actually produced in Fireworks. Once I had completed my proposed map layout, I was having alot of trouble moving some of the elements into position. After getting everything into its current position, the neatline was still problematic. So, I opened the png file in Fireworks, a software of which I am more proficient. I chose the blue legend color scheme. The expansion lines were used to show connectivity from the USA Map to the Florida Counties map. To create a visual progression to the primary map, I changed the colors on the Florida Counties map to map the scheme that I was using for the Hispanic Population map. I lined up the left edges of the USA Map box, the legend, and the "Produced By/Source Credit" box to create a sharp-edge "feel" along the left margin. It took alot of thought for me to come up with the layout progression the three maps...I did not want to put each one in a box because I thought it would be distracting. The legend and the Hispanic Population map are lined up to present them as a logical "pair" and the others are lined up to hopefully offer a logical flow from the large extent (USA) to the magnified map of the south Florida counties. Probably the main change that I would make to the map at this point is to lower the two inset maps and create more spread between the top of the neatline and the top of the USA Map box line. I am better with Adobe Illustrator than I was at the begining of the day, ...but there is ALOT more to learn! :)